Logan Footage Reactions: Wolverine’s Violent Western Adventure

Back before the age of cinematic universes, Fox launched their own superhero franchise that has lasted through nearly two decades and plenty of changes. However, the one constant has been Hugh Jackman continuing to appear as Wolverine. He has done so repeatedly since 2000, but come early next year, Jackman’s tenure will come to an end. Logan is set to be the third solo Wolverine movie, and Fox appears to be doing everything they can to send Jackman off on the right note.

Logan is set in the future of the convoluted X-Men timeline where mutants are nowhere to be found and Wolverine’s powers have finally started to wear down. The first trailer for the film surprised everyone by bringing a Western style approach to the film, which will branch out into an R-rated adventure. Now, Fox has shown the opening act of the film at a press event and the reactions have been incredibly positive.

Fox held a film showcase in New York City today to show off various upcoming titles they have for 2017, including Alien: Covenant, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Logan. After seeing the first 40 minutes of Logan, those in attendance were able to share their thoughts on what was screened. Not only is the style of the trailer an accurate representation of the movie’s overall tone, but it appears to earn its R rating and could be a breakout role for Dafne Keen as Laura Kinney aka X-23.

Logan does not have the steepest of competition to be crowned the best Wolverine solo movie, but the reactions coming out of the event point to it potentially being so by a large margin. Fans of the character have long wanted Fox to let him loose and be as violent as he could be, and while that may alienate a small portion of the potential audience, it appears to be a smart move already. The reactions seem to enjoy the intensified level of violence and do not make it seem out of place in what otherwise could be a quieter, character driven superhero movie.

Jackman’s Wolverine has repeatedly been shown in the same light over and over, but taking notes from storylines such as Old Man Logan already appear to be paying off. The superhero genre as a whole continues to evolve and mix n’ match genres to create unique experiences, so if Logan can do the same by taking an approach similar to Westerns, that will certainly help differentiate itself from not only other X-Men films but all superhero movies.

While Jackman is undoubtedly the star of the film, Fox and director James Mangold must be happy by already seeing positive reactions to their take on X-23. Audiences have seen glimpses of her in the marketing so far, but any dialogue or action scenes have remained hidden to this point. That could be changing with a new Logan trailer on the horizon, which could capitalize on this buzz and include even more elements of this select footage that was shown. All in all, it appears that Fox, Mangold, and Jackman have constructed a great start to Logan, but with the remaining hour or so of the film not seen, sticking the landing could very well be more important than how this movie begins.